Idaho Legislature: Where is the Repeal of the State’s Grocery Tax?

We're getting close to the thirty-day mark of the 2019 Idaho Legislative Session. To the disappointment of many in the Gem State, no one yet has brought up a bill to repeal the state's tax on groceries.

Is the grocery tax popular in Idaho? I'd say about as popular as an NFL Official in the city of New Orleans following the NFC Championship Game. Last year's primary season featured most of the Republican candidates pledging to do their best to eliminate the grocery tax. Sadly, most of us wonder why a repeal motion has not been filed or discussed?

You don't need a press pass to the capitol to hear the excuses emanating from the politicians. The first is the explanation is that the state is out of money. Idaho spent sixty million dollars, or close to it, over the state budget last year. How does that happen? Doesn't anyone keep track of the state budget to avoid this embarrassment? If you go over your credit limit, the credit card companies cut you off? That's not the case when it comes to state government spending.

Lawmakers quietly whisper that the expansion of Medicaid will take up all available monetary resources. Prop 2 did pass by a large margin last November. Proponents said that the state would get up to 40 million free money from the federal government. That doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Although the state did pay well more than 120 million dollars for the old HP Campus, the purchase price doesn't include the millions of dollars it will take to rehabilitate many buildings that are in a state of disrepair.

Let's hope that someone decides to live up to their campaign promises and deliver the elimination of the grocery tax. These politicians volunteered to represent our wishes, and it's time they lived up to their word.